EDITORIAL: City has no business floating plans for water park

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, August 18, 2013

Would a water park be a nice addition to Beaumont? Absolutely. But if one is ever built, it should come from the private sector, not the city of Beaumont.

It's simple: Building or operating a water park is far outside the core duties of city government. After the disappointment of Ford Park, no taxing entity in Southeast Texas should delve into ventures best left to private businesses.

It doesn't matter that the city of Baytown operates the Pirates Bay Water Park. Other counties have projects similar to Ford Park. A water park doesn't even belong on the city's list of capital projects under the strange hope that this would somehow spur private developers.

It's hard to believe that anyone in local government is proposing anything to do with a major public entertainment project after the lessons of Ford Park. On top of everything, Beaumont taxpayers just got a whopping five-cent increase in property taxes.

Public officials can think outside the box. The new skate park in downtown Beaumont is a good example of how that can be done effectively. But the skate park, like a traditional park, has no ongoing staffing or operating costs. You basically build it and turn it over to the citizens with only periodic maintenance.

Southeast Texas has a few water parks in smaller towns. The fact that no company has built one in Beaumont suggests it's not a viable proposal now - or maybe ever.

The Beaumont City Council needs to focus on streets, drainage and other basic functions. If it does that well, the city will be more attractive to all kinds of private development.